Salt Tectonics in the Ras Tafelney-Safi Segment of the Moroccan Atlantic Margin

摘要: The large Triassic/Jurassic salt basin offshore Morocco is associated with the early rifting of the Central Atlantic region. The progressive deformation of the vast amount of syn-rift salt created a basin with a large number of salt-related structures. These include a poorly developed raft domain in the upper slope and numerous allochthonous salt structures basinward, such as salt canopies, sheets and tongues. Also, a zone of prominent toe-thrust anticlines developed at the leading edge of the salt basin.The temporal evolution of the salt basin is similar to that of other salt basins, eg the Gulf of Mexico. During the Mid-Late Jurassic the thermal subsidence of the Atlantic oceanic crust created a pronounced basinward slope which resulted in the formation of antecedent folds. After a period of relative tectonic quiescence in the Early-Middle Cretaceous, the salt structures were reactivated at the end of the Cretaceous forming several allochthonous salt features. These structures were further enhanced during mid-Tertiary times, partly driven by the inversion of the Atlas Mountains onshore.